Nick Nurse expects James Harden to play in Sixers’ preseason finale despite skipped practice

Nick Nurse acknowledged that it was “a little bit” surprising that James Harden did not show for Wednesday’s 76ers practice.

Joel Embiid, meanwhile, leaned into his matter-of-fact trolling style, saying Harden’s absence was because, “Obviously, I think he has something important to do or something came up.”

» READ MORE: Source: Sixers ‘bracing for turbulence’ as James Harden skips practice, extends holdout

It remains unclear where this Harden conundrum goes from here, given that a trade out of Philly seems far from imminent. Yet the Sixers’ new coach and MVP are still operating, at least publicly, as if Harden plans to play in Friday’s preseason finale against the Atlanta Hawks.

“I’m still going on what he said the last time we talked to him — that he was going to ramp up and get ready to play Friday,” Nurse said following Wednesday’s practice. “So we’ll see how it goes.”

Added Embiid: “That’s what I saw. Like I always say, I try to stay away from these conversations. But [I’m] just focused on trying to get better. I’ve got myself to kind of worry about.”

Nurse has long said that the Sixers would prepare for the 2023-24 season with a Plan A and Plan B, depending on Harden’s status. Though the coach and teammates had described Harden as engaged since he joined the Sixers for the second day of training camp in Fort Collins, Colo., they have primarily taken the on-court path without last season’s NBA assist leader.

Harden has not played in any of the Sixers’ three preseason games, making Tyrese Maxey the starting point guard. And veteran wing Danny Green, the other player who spoke to the media following Wednesday’s practice, indirectly confirmed that Harden has been doing more individual work on his game and body during practices than live scrimmaging with teammates.

“He’s usually here to work,” Green said. “This is the first day he hasn’t [been]. But the guys that are here, we’re here to practice. We’re here to work on what we need to work on to get better, and that’s what we’ve been focusing on since Day 1.

“As professionals, we have a lot of vets here. Guys know how to do that.”

» READ MORE: James Harden cynics predicted drama would eventually hit the Sixers. It didn’t take long.

Green also reiterated that navigating the uncertainty is easier because many Sixers have already been through a similar scenario, when Ben Simmons held out two years ago. Now, this season’s group is “more mature,” Green said, but added they “would love to have” Harden play for them until the situation is resolved.

Still, the Sixers completed a Wednesday practice that Nurse described as “long” and “kind of a grinder” without their disgruntled star.

“If he’s here, we go,” Nurse said of Harden. “And if he’s not, we go. We’ve got work to do.”

After leaving Monday’s preseason win over the Brooklyn Nets with back spasms, Maxey returned to practice Wednesday, Nurse said. So did starting forward P.J. Tucker, who was a late scratch Monday with ankle soreness, along with reserve wings Danuel House Jr. (knee) and Furkan Korkmaz (hamstring).